The Day I Realized
by Lukeprism
Summary: Mikado stumbles upon an unexpected duo getting awfully close in an alley. Light Mikado/Masaomi, oneshot.


_**Disclaimer: I don't own Durarara! or it's characters.**_

—**s—t—a—r—t—f—i—c—t—i —o—n—**

The streets of Ikebukuro were chilly on that cold December evening. Those who knew what was good for them kept to the indoor areas as much as possible, but there were always the few people that had to walk outside, regardless of whether they wanted to or not. These people had thick coats on, and scurried to their destinations in a hurry. A few cars and trucks whizzed back and forth, but other than that, all was quiet.

There was one person, though, who didn't have heavy winter-worthy clothing on, and he strolled through the streets willingly, enjoying the rare moment of tranquility in this big city. Ryuugamine Mikado wore only his usual clothes, that green jacket and snug-fitting pants, with the exception of the dark gray scarf that was fastened securely around his thin neck. His hands were in his pockets, one arm in front of his trusty bag's strap, and small clouds of condensation appeared whenever the youth exhaled. He honestly didn't mind the cold; it was rather refreshing.

If one was to ask him what he was doing, Mikado wouldn't quite know how to respond. He was just...walking. Sometimes he just did that, roaming around the city with no clear destination in mind. All the while, he usually thought about stuff. The stuff that teens usually thought about: school, what he was doing over the next couple of days, what he'd eat for dinner that night, spontaneous gang fights... Alright, maybe _not_ that last one. The dark-haired boy had called his best friend, Kida Masaomi, earlier (twice, actually), but the blonde hadn't picked up his phone. And since Mikado didn't really feel much like hanging out with his other friend, Sonohara Anri, he decided he'd just go out by himself.

He made a turn down the next alley he came across. One might say that it was a bad idea to just waltz into an alley in a big city if you weren't a muscle-bound adult male, but Mikado would have to politely disagree. True, it probably wasn't the _best_ of ideas, but alleys were often the quietest places one could find in Ikebukuro. Hence, the ability to think without distractions.

So there he was, walking along and thinking casually. _What should I have for dinner tonight? Something warm... Quick, too. Ramen it is._ He turned a corner, not really paying attention to the two people occupying this particular alleyway until he heard them laugh; one voice feminine and the other decidedly male.

He stopped dead when he realized who exactly they were.

They had been walking along much like Mikado had been, and slowed to a halt right after they laughed. Anri rubbed her gloves together, still smiling that cute little smile of hers. She giggled when Masaomi bowed low to her.

"My lovely little Anri-chan, I should report you to the police, shouldn't I? You've stolen my heart~" he prattled shamelessly, the way he would always hit on chicks with Mikado standing a little ways behind him, red tinting his cheeks and stuttering like a fool while telling him to cut it out. The difference being Anri's sudden attention lock on his best friend, and the way said best friend had spoken; with less tease and more feeling. Though the pickup line was the worst Mikado had heard in weeks, Anri still giggled**—**and was that a _blush_ on her cheeks?**—**at him, her nose wrinkling cutely.

Mikado suddenly felt uneasy. His best friend was hitting on his other, female friend. And they were alone. And now Masaomi was upright again, and their faces were close, too close for the dark-haired boy's liking. He couldn't make out the expression in his best friend's eyes, but Anri's eyes twinkled with desire, so much so that even one as far away from them as Mikado could pick up on it. And then it hit him.

They were on a date, weren't they?

He didn't understand why that realization made his heart ache so suddenly.

Thanks to the difference in the temperature of the air and an exhale, Mikado could clearly see their cloudy breaths intermingling in the air between them. Were they closer to each other than before, or was it just his imagination? The dark-haired boy became aware of a lump in his throat, threatening to cut off his breathing. He didn't want to be there anymore; he wanted to slip away quietly, go somewhere, preferably back to his humble abode, somewhere warm in stark contrast to this cold weather that just a few moments ago seemed to intensify tenfold, and forget he ever saw this so that things might still retain some shred of normality. Though Mikado seriously doubted it would be that easy. No matter, though. His legs were frozen in place somehow, and he couldn't make a muscle in his body move, save for his eyebrows shooting up in disbelief.

Then, ever so slowly, as if deliberately doing it in slow motion just to rub it in Mikado's face, Anri craned her neck in an effort to meet Masaomi's lips. Mikado silently pleaded with them, desperately clinging to the unlikely hope that Masaomi would suddenly pull away, or that they'd both pause and start laughing, turning toward him and saying something about how they'd really had him going, like it was all just a prank. But the instant that their lips met, something inside Mikado seemed to crack. Time seemed to stop as they just stood there, lips locked, apparently unaware of the horrified boy standing frozen not five meters away. He was seeing it with his own eyes, but he didn't want to believe it.

His best friend was kissing his other friend.

He didn't realize he was crying until Anri reached her arms up to wrap them around Masaomi's neck, the blonde having not moved during the entirety of the ordeal. He shut his eyes quickly. He couldn't take anymore of it; one more second of watching this would make his heart explode.

The next thing he knew, his feet were slapping mercilessly against the ground and he was running as fast as he could in the opposite direction. The tears on his face instantly dried thanks to the chilly air rushing past his face. But he still didn't quite know why he felt so horribly crushed inside. It was true, he'd had a not-so-small crush on Anri a few weeks ago, but that had long since faded. So then, why**—**

He wanted to cry even harder once he figured out the answer.

Yet another one of today's abhorrent realizations: _he loved his best friend as more than a best friend_. He felt something hot burning in the pit of his stomach, a feeling he assumed was shame. How _could_ he, knowing how hopeless it was? The guy hit on girls _every_ available moment. He was so straight, it wasn't even funny. He suddenly realized that he always blushed around Masaomi's flirting because _he_ wanted to be the one his best friend was flirting with. Mikado had never thought himself to be gay. Maybe he was bisexual? Not that that made the situation any better. His short, dark hair flew behind him as he turned another corner, looking desperately for a way out of the maze he had no idea he'd stumbled into. He could hear footsteps behind him, too. _Great._ Now one or both of them was hot on his heels, probably to reprimand him for peeking in on such an intimate moment for them.

He was in no condition to talk to either of them right now, though, _especially_ Masaomi, so he ran faster, trying his best to out run his pursuer, even though he was by far the worst of the trio when it came to athletics. He was on the final stretch now; he could see the main street just twenty meters or so ahead! If he could just make it there, he'd have a pretty good chance of losing them if he cut down a particularly crowded section**—**

But of course, fate had a way of screwing one over at times. There was a little puddle of water or somesuch that had turned to ice due to the freezing temperatures, and it was on this puddle that Ryuugamine Mikado lost his footing. He slipped and fell face first, though somehow his scarf had broken the fall enough to leave his face with very minor injuries. He was pretty sure he'd twisted his ankle, though. The footsteps were gaining on him, and Mikado cursed his luck under his breath, tears still running freely down his face.

The footsteps approached, getting louder and louder until they slowed to a halt right next to him. It was only one of them, then. It was quiet for a moment. Mikado couldn't even begin to imagine how _pathetic_ he must've looked, laying sprawled out on the dirty ground, sniveling like a little kid. He didn't dare open his eyes.

He heard a rustle of clothing as the someone crouched beside him. He could hear their breathing, and he knew from that that it was Masaomi. Brilliant. _Just get it over with, Masaomi. Go ahead. Tell me how pathetic I am and go back to Anri._ But he heard nothing of the sort.

"Dude. You okay?" he heard Masaomi say, his voice sounding rather concerned. He opened his eyes now, and they were wide. "Hey. Mikado?" he continued, gently touching Mikado's shoulder. The dark-haired boy flinched at the touch, feeling oh-so-guilty for _enjoying_ it as well as somewhat fearing it. Not that he thought that Masaomi would've _hurt_ him or anything, but.

Masaomi sighed. "Mikado, could you look at me, please?" he asks, in such a way that Mikado has little choice but to slowly push himself up and turn his head just enough to meet his best friend's eyes. They were filled with... _Regret_? What...?

Masaomi smiled a little. "Sorry about that. You know I like Anri, but not like _that_," he said, looking away from Mikado, whose eyes, if at all possible, had widened even more. "We were just walking around, and I thought I'd tease her a little. I never thought she would've _kissed_ me, though, I swear." He looked back toward him again. "My good looks can be a curse sometimes!" he joked. Mikado didn't even try to fake a laugh, still looking at him incredulously. Masaomi chuckled a bit and sighed. "...Yeah, anyway, she's all yours once she gets over my rejection, eh?"

Oh. _Oh_. _That_ why he was apologizing. He still assumed that Mikado _like_ liked Anri, and that that was why he was crying. _So it wasn't a date?_ Relief flooded through out Mikado, calming his frazzled nerves, if only for the moment. Half of him wanted to let Masaomi believe that to be the reason behind why Mikado was so upset, but the other half of him decided to shake his head and tell him the truth. "I-I see. But that's not the p-problem here," he said, managing to get his vocal cords to work.

Masaomi looked confused. "Wha, really? Well then, why do you look so..." he trailed off, looking for the word to describe Mikado's current appearance. He never got the chance to think of one, though, because Mikado could tell by the facial expression he made that he'd connected the dots and realized the actual reason for himself. Mikado closed his eyes and lowered his head slightly, ashamed and preparing himself for the slew of words that would no doubt dash any remaining hopes of having Masaomi all to himself and tear him apart in the process. _Please don't hate me, please don't hate me, just reject me so that we can go on being friends, just please don't__**—**_

All thought processes stopped when he felt Masaomi's lips on his own, pressing against him lightly. They were warm and soft, and of course, felt so _good_. He'd be a filthy liar if he said he felt guilty about kissing back, their lips fitting together perfectly. Mikado didn't know if Masaomi was just teasing him, trying to get him to calm down or what, but at this point, he didn't much care. He'd take what he could get.

But it ended all too soon, Masaomi pulling away before Mikado had worked up enough courage to enlist some tongue action. To his elated surprise, his best friend was _blushing_. Masaomi smiled sheepishly. "To tell you the truth, I've kinda liked you for a while," he admitted, his face still tantalizingly close to Mikado's own. "I just tried to ignore it by flirting with as many girls as possible; didn't want to risk ruining our friendship, y'know?"

Mikado managed to work his face into a smile in return. "Y-yeah," he agreed, using his jacket's sleeve to wipe his cheeks free of the now-dry tears all up on his face. "But I guess that's not a problem anymore, huh?" he chuckled.

Masaomi laughed. "No, I suppose not," he concurred, standing up. "C'mon, it's cold out here," he said, holding his arm down to his former best friend, who gladly took it. He hoisted him up, and Mikado suddenly hissed in pain. "Eh? What's wrong?" Masaomi asked, afraid he might've stepped on Mikado's foot or something.

Mikado tried to turn his grimace into a reassuring smile. "Ah, it's not much, but I guess I twisted my ankle when I slipped," he said, wincing again as he tried to put pressure on it once more. "It's not that bad."

Masaomi tutted. "It _was_ a nasty little fall. Well, then, that just won't do," he said, in that I'm-about-to-do-something-that-you-won't-like-but-I'll-find-hilarious voice. He then swept Mikado off his feet, holding him bridal-style in his arms with a fair amount of effort.

After he got over the initial sensation of being lifted and the shock of being held so easily, Mikado vehemently protested. "M-_Masaomi_!" he squeaked, half-heartedly struggling to make the blonde put him down as he walked toward the street (ignoring that fact that he kinda sorta liked it a _teeny_ bit. It wasn't anywhere near proper, and was a big blow to his masculinity to boot). But Masaomi just laughed some more.

"I can't have my precious Mikado-kun walking on an injured leg! We'll have to get you home, posthaste~" he declared loudly as they came within everyone's view, leaving the protection of the small alleyway. People gave them funny looks. Mikado groaned.

"Seriously, Masaomi, put me down!" his voice was more stern now, though he was blushing like a damn tomato and ceased most of his physical struggling. It was embarrassing enough _without_ hundreds of people staring them down.

The only reply he got was discouraging. "Don't act like you're not enjoying this, Mikado-kun!~"

In short, most people who even noticed them dismissed the two as just being kids, and they were soon back at Mikado's flat, safe, sound, warm, and thoroughly enjoying each other's company.

—**e—n—d—f—i—c—t—i—o—n—**

_**A/N: First DRRR! fanfic, written in the span of about two hours!Whew. I just got into this fandom about a week ago. I'm up to episode twelve and loving it, baby. I freaking love Mikado! Izaya too, but he's not in this fic. Later, maybe... Tried to make it as in-character as possible, please feel free to smack me upside the head with a dead fish if it isn't.**_

_**R&R please! Thanks for reading!**_


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